Reply With QuoteIf ever a thread was useless without pics...
Bit of a weird one - but here goes:
I got my Grand Seiko SBGA211 Snowflake in 2019 - new from an AD. Since then it’s never been off the bracelet as generally any pics I’ve seen on them on leather straps haven’t looked that great due to the lug hole positioning and height of the case.
Recently I was playing about with straps on another watch and decided to try a different strap on my Snowflake since it was around and I hadn’t up to that point. I noticed that the spring bar on the 6 o’clock side looked bent, so I thought it’d replace them to be safe.
So I got the bracelet off with my Bergeon 6767F no problem, strap on - didn’t like it as expected then popped in a new spring bar (exactly the same size) on each side and put the bracelet back on - or so I thought.
12 o’clock side there was no issue, the 6 o’clock side wouldn’t go back in, one side popped in and the other was sitting around 1mm (probably not even that) to the side of the hole (the side further from the case) meaning there was give in the bracelet. I thought this was weird as every other bracelet I’ve ever reattached just popped in - so after fiddling with it for a while I could get either side to pop into the hole but not both sides together.
Eventually I gave up and put the bent spring bar back in (which due to the bend in the end popped in fine with the correct alignment). I should add it is not a curved spring bar, rather it has bent out of shape like there has been tension on it. My worry is that eventually tension = breaking, so this isn’t a reasonable long term solution.
That’s left me thinking either the holes are misaligned on the watch, or the end link is milled incorrectly meaning it can’t manoeuvre into position. Either of these seem really unlikely to me given Grand Seiko’s attention to detail - but I can’t think of anything else it could be. I’ve tried this whole process a couple of times with the same end result so simple user error I’m fairly confident is not the issue.
Has anyone had any similar type of experience or have any thoughts on how to fix the issue with a watch that is now out of warranty?
If ever a thread was useless without pics...
I know. Difficult to photograph really but will have a goOriginally Posted by Papa Hotel
I would take it back to the AD and explain the situation - sounds like faulty when bought? If goods are not fit for purpose you can get them fixed for upto 6 years if they are faulty when purchased (consumer rights act or similar).
https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rig...t-aKJYx8n5KiSl
Last edited by MartynJC (UK); 16th April 2022 at 23:14.
“ Ford... you're turning into a penguin. Stop it.” HHGTTG
Images 1 and 2: this is the original spring bar, notice the bend on the left hand side, and the spring bar on its own
Image 3: new spring bar in, note that on the right side it is not in correctly
Image 4: you can see with the spring bar tool through the drilled lug that the spring bar is not centred in the lug hole
In taking these it occurred to me that I hadn’t tried the 12 end link in the 6 side - it went in perfectly, meaning there is nothing wrong with the lug holes, rather the end link must be the issue. The problem 6 endlink had the same error in the 12 side - meaning the problem has been identified, the question remains how to solve it
Last edited by RVFIO; 16th April 2022 at 23:35.
As you bought new from the AD, take it back there and explain the problem. They should really resolve this for you
I've experienced exactly this sort of thing with a number of watches with very tight-fitting solid end pieces.
Yes, the end pieces were very slightly different and it was end piece-dependent.
Looking at the 'bend' in the spring bar, I don't think I'd be worried about that. It's just the spring tip part that seems to be sticking out at an angle and I don't think that's unusual (for tight-fitting end piece scenarios).
An experiment that might be worth trying would be to ask the Seiko AD or Seiko UK themselves for genuine replacement spring bars for that model. (Perhaps better to go to Seiko direct for such a request). It is important that the spring bar has exactly the correct dimensions: Uncompressed length, barrel diameter, tip length, tip diameter, etc. Generic spring bars are unlikely to work properly imvho.
It should be possible to get a genuine brand new spring bar successfully into position but it will require some frustrating pushing and prodding. In particular, looking at your pics, I reckon you need to use something like the tip of a penknife blade to slide the tip of the spring bar into the correct position. This is much harder to achieve than it seems.
Having said all of the above, I am willing to accept that it ideally shouldn't be so difficult. But I can nevertheless confirm that I have been in exactly the situation you describe, especially as you illustrated with images 3 and 4. I just had to use the correct spring bar and a lot of persuasion with a thin, strong, pointy object (tip of a penknife blade in my case) to push the tip of the spring bar eventually into position. It was very, very frustrating.
Last edited by markrlondon; 16th April 2022 at 23:56.
Thanks for the response, it’s good to hear that this isn’t a one off!
I’ve had good experience with Grand Seiko UK’s service in the past so will give them a call and see if they can send me a couple of new spring bars and ideally a new end link and see where I can go from there
Good luck! Would love to know how it goes.
I’ll update this post
Seiko customer service has been very helpful in my experience. I had a GS with damaged outer boxes, they found a new blue box and outer packaging and sent them to me free. I was impressed.
Cool.
We know it’s (probably) not lug alignment but surely that’s easy to check by passing something like fine drill bit right through the two lugs.
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